Euphoria 54 review
Designed by German Frers for Turkish yard, Sirena Marine, the Euphoria 54 is a fast, easily-handled blue-water yacht, says Rupert Holmes.
October 6, 2015
The first of a new range of Turkish built fast cruising yachts, this easily handled performance cruiser is designed by German Frers, whose claims to fame include all of Nautor’s performance cruising Swan yachts designed since the early 1980s. (See for yourself with the
">Euphoria 54 first look video on the boats.com youtube channel.) This boat is built to a high standard in Turkey and is intended as the first of a new range of bluewater cruising yachts from Sirena Marine. Unlike most boat builders, which are relatively small independent operations, this is part of a large and forward thinking conglomerate that generates a tangible proportion of the country’s GDP.
The brand new German Frers designed Euphoria 54 built by Sirena Marine in Turkey.
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Key attributes
From the outset the aim was to combine quality of workmanship with good design and up to date construction. The boat is built using advanced vinylester resin-injected moulding methods to ensure a strong and stiff, yet lightweight, structure. The carbon-fibre rudder eliminates a common point of failure of more conventional rudders as there’s no mechanism for water ingress between a metal stock and a glass-fibre blade.
Below decks
Design Unlimited, the company responsible for the interior, has produced an ergonomic design with features that include warm floor-level lighting, a discrete pop up flat-screen TV, and seating that converts to a day bed at the touch of a button. The standard layout features three large en suite cabins, including a spacious owner’s stateroom forward of the main bulkhead. The comfortable saloon is very spacious, occupying the full width of the yacht. Considerable attention to details here means the back rests are at an optimum angle for comfort, while the table can easily be converted from dining to coffee table mode and back again.
Design Unlimited has produced a warm, comfortable interior.
The galley has good work top space, with commendably deep fiddles to stop pots, pans, crockery and food flying away to the opposite side of the boat when heeled. It’s well equipped, including twin sinks, a domestic size four burner cooker, separate fridge and freezer and even a dishwasher.
The owner’s cabin has ample well organised stowage, as well as a dressing table with its own seat that could easily double as a small desk. The en suite toilet and shower are in completely separate compartments on opposite sides of the boat. Both are fitted out to a very high standard.
Guests will appreciate the two aft quarter cabins, which can be converted from double to twin configurations and vice versa. There’s also an option to fit the forepeak out as a separate crew cabin with access from the foredeck.
On deck and performance
The cockpit is divided into two clear areas – a forward one in which you can relax and socialise around a large folding table, and an aft sailing cockpit with twin wheels and from where all sail controls, other than the primary winches, can be operated. Even then, if necessary the primaries can be operated from the wide side decks, leaving guests in the cockpit undisturbed.
Advanced building techniques should ensure a strong, lightweight structure.
Instead of a bank of clutches, with the inevitable bundle of rope at the aft end of the coachroof, all halyards, reefing lines and other controls are led to powered winches next to the twin wheels in the aft part of the cockpit. Electric headsail furling gear can also be controlled from here, as can the thruster and windlass, making for easy operation even with a skeleton crew on board. There are also neat rope bins under each of the steering consoles.
As far as possible, the remainder of the deck layout has been kept as clean as possible, including a mainsheet arrangement that runs forward of the companionway hatch, and lines are run under the deck wherever possible. The overall effect is to emphasis the available space on deck. A choice of carbon or aluminium rigs is offered, and buyers have the choice of in-mast furling or slab reefing mainsails, depending on their performance requirements.
Equipment and options
A high standard of equipment is included as standard, including a 6kW generator, black and grey water systems as well as a fridge and freezer. On deck there’s an under deck electric furling system for the headsail, a 2000W windlass and 75 metres of anchor chain. This means options are mostly confined to upgraded sail inventories and luxuries such as air conditioning.
What it does best
The Euphoria 54 offers an appealing blend of comfortable accommodation for a modest sized crew on a quick, yet easily handled, yacht.
Compromises
No attempt has been made to cram in as many cabins as possible, so there are boats of this size that offer the potential to cater for more people, but none of them can match the personal space this design offers. From a different perspective, there are boats that offer more refined sail controls, such as a cockpit mounted mainsheet traveller, but these invariably come at the expense of space in which guests can chill out in safety well away from the action.
Other models in the range
The prototype of a larger 68ft model is currently in production and this will be followed by an 84ft sistership. Sirena Marine also builds the Rob Humphreys designed Azuree range of fast cruiser-racers.
Alternative boats
The choice of designer is no accident – this boat is intended to occupy the part of the market that was so successful for Nautor and its Swan yachts before the company moved into progressively larger yachts (see 6 of the best Nautor’s Swan yachts of all time). Obvious other contenders include the Grand Soleil 54, although this is a design from 2007 that looks as though it may be replaced before too much longer.
Other alternatives include X-Yachts’ Xc 50 and Xp 55. The former is more oriented towards long-distance cruising, while the latter is from the Danish company’s long established performance cruising line, with more emphasis on speed and excellent handling characteristics, while still retaining impressive accommodation.
For comparable cruising yacht reviews on boats.com, see: Oyster 56 review: a classic ahead of its time or Discovery 55 MkII review: evolutionary update.
Euphoria 54 review: Specifications
Hull length: 16.46m
LWL: 14.96m
Beam: 4.9m
Draught: 2.40 or 3.00m
Displacement: 17,900kg
Ballast: 6,200kg
Mainsail: 95 sq m
Jib: 71 sq m
Fuel: 450 litres
Water: 550 litres
Holding tank: 160 litres
Engine: 75hp
Air draught: 25.40m
www.euphoriayachts.com.tr
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